Field of the Invention
This invention relates to body armor, in particular soft body armor which has improved properties, composite materials useful for such body armor, and to a method of enhancing the abrasion resistance of soft body armor.
Description of the Related Art
Ballistic resistant products, such as body armor, are known in the art. They may be of the hard (or rigid) or soft (or flexible) types. Many of these products are based on high tenacity fibers, and are used in such applications such as bullet-resistant vests.
Hard or rigid body armor generally provides good ballistic resistance, but can be very stiff and bulky. Accordingly, body armor garments, such as ballistic resistant vests, are preferably formed from soft or flexible armor materials, and they exhibit excellent ballistic properties. Examples of typical constructions are those based on a woven aramid fabric or a cross-plied aramid or polyethylene non-woven unidirectional fabric, or combinations of such materials with other layers. These materials have met with great success in providing protection against various ballistic and other threats.
It would be desirable to provide improvements in such soft body armor, especially in hybrid constructions where different ballistic fabrics or fibers are used.